CONVENT PRINT UNSIGNED

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"Convent” unsigned print by Mario Sanchez This is a depiction of the original Convent at St. Mary's Basilica. The convent experienced severe damage, and lost its roof, in the great hurricane of 1919. Though the building survived and continued to operate for several decades after the hurricane, it eventually grew old and worn. Safety concerns ultimately led to the decision to close the school and later demolish the structure in 1969. The demolition of the Convent of Mary Immaculate sparked outrage among Key West citizens and rekindled the local preservation movement. 29”w x 15”h Image size 26.75”w x 9.5”h Rolled and mailed in poster tube. Mario Sanchez: artist (1908–2005) was a Cuban-American folk artist from the Key West cigar-making neighborhood known as "Gato Village". Self-taught, Sanchez began working artistically in 1930 on media like paper bags and cedar wood boards. He would come to specialize in bas-relief wood carvings that he would then paint over in vibrant colors, usually depicting scenes of everyday Key West life. Described as a "memory artist" like Grandma Moses or Clementine Hunter, after earning a business degree in stenography in 1925, Sanchez went to Ybor City in Tampa to work as a clerk. In 1930, Sanchez was hired at the Monroe County Courthouse as a translator and stenographer, and so returned home to Key West. He explored his creative streak by writing comedic Spanish-language skits for the San Carlos playhouse and by whittling small fish native to the Florida Keys. This carving would carry over into his more lasting works of art, where he would carve scenes into wooden panels, and then illustrate them with highly detailed paintwork. He has been called the most important Cuban-American folk artist of the 20th century Show more